Pfizer profits tumble

NEW YORK, Aug 1 (AFP): Pfizer reported a steep drop in profits Tuesday on much lower Covid-related revenues as it curtailed its full-year sales outlook, in part due to tornado damage to a key manufacturing facility.
Profits in the second quarter were $2.3 billion, down 77 per cent as revenues fell 54 per cent to $12.7 billion.
Quarterly revenues for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine and Paxlovid therapeutic were $1.6 billion, far below the $16.9 billion in the year-ago period.
The drugmaker pointed to a "few near-term individual product revenue" challenges as it trimmed its full-year sales forecast.
These include US approval for a drug combination for prostate cancer and a needed recommendation on the Abrysvo vaccine from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pfizer also cited recent tornado damage to a North Carolina manufacturing facility as a drag on near-term results.
The pharmaceutical giant now expects full-year revenue growth of six to eight percent in 2023, excluding Covid programmes. That's down one per cent from the prior range.